Yolande of Aragon

Yolande of Aragon (11 August 1384-14 November 1442) was Duchess consort of Anjou from 2 December 1400 to 29 April 1417 as the wife of Louis II of Naples. As mother-in-law of Charles VII of France, she exerted influence over him during his years as uncrowned king (1422-1429).

Biography
Yolande of Aragon was born in Zaragoza, Aragon on 11 August 1384, the daughter of John I of Aragon and Yolande of Bar. In 1389, Louis II of Anjou was crowned "King of Naples", and his mother Marie of Blois sought to have him marry into the House of Barcelona to ensure that Aragon would not obstruct his rule there. In 1395, King Richard II of England sought to marry Yolande, but King Charles VI of France instead had his daughter Isabella of Valois marry King Richard. In 1400, despite protesting against the marriage, Yolande married Louis at Arles, and their marriage would later become successful. Yolande claimed the throne of Aragon after the deaths of her elder sister Joanna and her uncle Martin of Aragon in 1410. However, John I of Castile's son Ferdinand, a member of the House of Trastamara, was chosen to lead the country by the Estates of Aragon, and her son Louis III of Anjou proceeded to claim the throne until 1412. Yolande and her sons claimed to rule Aragon, and she was also the titular monarch of Sicily, Jerusalem, and Cyprus.

Yolande became a resident of the Kingdom of France through her marriage, holding the titles Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Provence. During the Hundred Years' War, Yolande chose to support the Armagnac party of France, opposing the Burgundian party and England. Yolande also acted as a substitute mother to Dauphin Charles during his youth, protecting him from plots against his life by keeping him in her castles. She maneuvered John VI of Brittany into breaking his alliance with England, and she ensured that Breton soldier Arthur de Richemont became Constable of France in 1425. Yolande influenced events such as the financing of Joan of Arc's army in 1429, tipping the balance of the war in favor of the French. She also forced the removal of advisors such as Georges de la Tremoille, who were counter-productive to the war effort, and she hired beautiful women to serve as mistresses to powerful men. She died in 1442.